A judge ruled Tuesday that former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva should face trial for corruption and money laundering charges, even though the same judge had dropped all charges against Lula during the investigation into the corruption scheme inside the state-run oil company Petrobras. Rousseff spoke in support of her mentor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a day after a federal judge ruled that he must stand trial on corruption and money-laundering charges, possibly thwarting the political comeback of one of the remaining dominant forces of Latin America’s left.
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“I’m at the full disposal of the serious people in the federal prosecutors’ office, in the Federal Police and in the judiciary”, the 71-year-old politician said last week in a almost one-hour speech following prosecutors’ announcement of the charges. “According to the accusation, he had knowledge of its origins in the criminal scheme that damaged Petrobras”. Many of those implicated have struck plea bargains with the prosecution for reduced sentences. The politician has denied any wrongdoing, saying he didn’t own the penthouse and only visited it.
Lula, a hugely popular president who served from 2003 to 2010 and is credited with a number of initiatives that propelled GDP growth and significantly reduced poverty in Brazil, has been under investigation for much of the past year. Lula was Dilma Rousseff’s political mentor.
In early August, the Vox Populi Institute published a poll which showed Lula would come out the clear victor if he ran for the presidency against a number of likely candidates.
Several politicians and Petrobras executives have been arrested and sentenced as a result of the two-year inquiry. But the judge’s decision on Tuesday is taking the case to a new level, analysts said.
“Moro has shown that the investigation will only fade away when Lula is behind bars”, said Rafael de Paula Aguiar Araujo, a political science professor at Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo.
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On Aug. 19, Moro, who also oversaw the corruption case within Petrobas, released a report clearing Lula of all charges.
